GOOD-BYE CHARLESTON, SC

The SC state tree - the Palmetto Palm

He Said:  Hello Readers: Since our last blog a lot of changes have occurred.  We thought we would depart on that Sunday from Charleston but the windy/cold weather conditions had us changing our plans, what a surprise.  Our total stay in Charleston should be about 3 ½ weeks if we depart when we are planning to.  Thank heaven we really enjoy it here, but the weather has not been our best friend.  Since we pushed back our departure for several days we ended up spending Thanksgiving on the boat in Charleston.  We walked around town for a little and most of the restaurants close to the marina were closed, so our decision to eat on the boat was a good one.  Pat prepared a turkey breast with all the fixings and we just laid low.  The temp got to 50, and if the high would have only been 48 it would have been the coldest Thanksgiving ever.  Thank heaven we had 2 full degrees in our favor.

 

The following day we took the city bus to Loews to buy a few things we needed around the boat.  Our good friend Tim arrived on Saturday following a 6 hour drive - he had been visiting his family over the holiday.  Tim is a water-dude and we always enjoy his company.  He helped us back in Boston when we first bought the boat.  He enjoys doing boat things so we had a list of stuff to do while he was here, and we both enjoyed it.  It was really nice because Tim had wheels and we took advantage of that - it makes doing stuff so much easier.  We were hoping to get to Hilton Head and meet up with Tim there, but sometimes in our world things change - like most of the time.  Tim and his wife Pam are planning on escaping from Seattle this winter and paying us a visit somewhere in southern Florida, should be fun.

 

I think since our last blog my Buckeyes have played twice - once against Indiana and then Michigan.  The first game was a piece of cake, but the game in Ann Arbor was more than a challenge, but we survived.  We have now won 24 in a row and with a win against Michigan State we have a pretty good chance of playing in the national championship game.  If so, it would be 4 times in 11 years, not too bad.

 

I mentioned in an earlier blog that our lives are pretty normal when we are in a marina for an extended time and we believe that it is. Having said that, we realize how very lucky we are to do a trip of a lifetime.  We really have our challenges, but it has been a terrific adventure and we are very much looking forward to arriving in Florida for the following 4 months.  More than likely our next blog will be from either Georgia or the sunshine state of Florida.  Nothing for certain, but that is kind of our game plan. We will see what happens, but thank heaven we are very flexible - if not we would have went crazy be now.  That is about it for now.  Hope all is going well in your world.

 

Thanks to you people who respond to our blog.  We really love hearing back from our friends, so please keep up the good work.  Special thanks to blog responders Russ & Jen and Harlan for showing such interest in our adventure.  We try to blog-respond to all blog posts.

 

Take Care, Jack

 

 

View of The Battery in Charleston from the Ashley River

 

 

Charleston Skyline from the Charleston Harbor

She Said:  As much as we enjoyed Charleston it was time to say good-bye.  We needed two good back-to-back weather days and it looked like that would happen.  So we made a final run to the grocery store, did our last load of laundry, tied up the dinghy and filled up with water.  We were up bright and early in the morning, and it looked awful outside.  We tend to be extremely conservative (maybe wimpy is a better word) when it comes to traveling the waterways, and we debated whether or not we should leave.  Jack went to the marina office and there were 3 other boaters debating the same issue.  Ultimately, we all decided to stay another few days in Charleston instead of facing potentially nasty weather.  It turned out to be a good decision on many fronts.  We found some new places in Charleston and the weather was really lousy.  There were tornados forecasted (one actually touched down – but not near us), the wind was whipping and we were rocking.  We talked once again about getting off MTB and spending the night in a hotel.  But fortunately, the winds shifted from northeast to southwest, and we were very well protected and didn’t rock nearly as much as we expected.  Along with the wind we had unseasonably cold weather – it was the 2^nd coldest Thanksgiving ever in Charleston.  All along the east coast the weather was lousy so there’s no way we would have missed it.  The storm front that came through is the same one that hit most of the U.S., so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about the weather.

 

We planned on participating in a potluck Thanksgiving dinner in Beaufort, but with our weather delays that wasn’t going to happen.  We debated where to go/what to do for the big day and decided to stay on MTB and cook in – that way we’d have leftovers.  Even though I have 3 burners and an oven, I can only use two of them at the same time.  When I turn the 3^rd “thing” on I blow a fuse.  So needless to say we didn’t have a grand feast, but it was nice. 

 

We met some very nice people during our last week in Charleston.  We had a fun happy hour with some boaters.  They had a lot of great info on the Keys.  At the restaurant Pearlz, we met a great couple from NC (Tom and Cindy) who were spending Thanksgiving weekend in Charleston.  We seemed to keep bumping into them and really enjoyed their company.  I’m not sure who was a bigger talker – Jack or Tom.  They spend several weekends a year in Charleston and had lots of recommendations for us which were all excellent.  Speaking of Pearlz – it’s a great restaurant and oyster bar.  Jack liked the raw oysters he had in the Chesapeake so he decided to try them again – and he stills likes them.  I could take them or leave them.  It’s one of our favorite spots in Charleston. 

 

It seems like things on boats break more often than they do in a house.  During the awful cold spell one of our two heaters went out, so we went Black Friday shopping at Lowes for a portable heater to hold us until we could get the heater fixed.  We did get a mechanic out, but he didn’t have the needed part.  The space heater works really well so we’ll probably wait until somewhere in Florida to get the heater fixed.  Then the TV on the back patio just quit.  It’s happened in the past, but this time we couldn’t reset it.  We no sooner bought a new TV and the old one started working again.  Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes.  Now we have a back-up.

 

The highlight of the last two weeks has been Tim’s visit. Tim is our friend from Seattle who joined us in Boston and helped us settle into MTB.  I love when Tim visits.  He and Jack go out, and I get a little time to myself.  Tim’s also very handy and he did a lot of projects on the boat – including replacing our shower head which has greatly improved the showering experience on MTB.  Tim’s also a foodie of sorts – but not in a snobbish way.  Whenever we’re together we try something new.  We went to a southern restaurant, Hominy, and had a great dinner.  Believe it or not, the fried baloney sandwich was the standout.  Excellent.  Tim’s a great friend, and I thoroughly enjoy his visits.  We’re hoping that he and his wife, Pam, will join us in Florida later this winter.

 

It looks like we are officially in the Christmas season, and it’s been fun to see the holiday decorations – especially the lights on MTB.  Yes, we did decorate her – not a lot, but just enough to be festive. Our first Christmas event of the season was the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting in Charleston.  I really enjoy looking at holiday lights on the southern architecture.  As we travel the next month I’m sure we’ll see lots of holiday events – should be fun!

 

33rd annual Charleston Christmas Parade on King Street